The Son and the Apprentice
by The Revenge of the Mask
Summary: Luke attempts to prevent his father from converting to the darkside in a leap through time. But his plan is different from ones in standard Star Wars time travel stories.
1. Prologue

Just a little something that's been floating around in my head. It's a little far-fetched, but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

-ROTM

* * *

><p>Luke Skywalker, the hero of the Rebellion, walked swiftly across the halls of the Jedi Temple. As he approached his destination, he quickened his pace. The doors slid open with a hiss, revealing an immense chamber. All around Luke, droids rushed from place to place, turning dials and gears and whatnot. And in the center of the chamber was a tube-like structure. It was a glossy, translucent blue and resembled a bacta tank.<p>

The head droid of the operation approached Luke. "All preparations are complete, Master Skywalker. The Temporal Gate is ready for activation."

Luke nodded in response. "Good. Is the child here?"

"Yes, Master Skywalker." the droid buzzed out, gesturing to a nurse droid, who was caring for a Togruta infant. The baby was wailing loudly, frightened by the sounds of machinery.

The head droid swerved his eye-stalks back to face Luke. "Do you wish for me to inform Masters Han and Leia Solo of your departure. Or perhaps your wife or your son."

Luke made a dismissing gesture. "No. If all goes well, they won't even know I'm gone."

With one last look out through a holo screen at the planet-city of Coruscant, Luke carefully received the wailing infant from the nurse droid, and stepped into the tube-like structure.

"Activate the Gate. Put me a little outside the temple, I don't want anyone to see me." Luke pulled his cowl over his head.

"Initiate procedure." the head droid commanded.

A few seconds later, the world suddenly changed.

It wasn't a smooth transition. It was very abrupt. One second, Luke was standing in the chamber, the next on the streets in front of the temple. Luke tested his Tether. A feeling of dread washed over him when he couldn't get a signal from the Gate. This was one of the risks of the trip, and Luke knew that, but he now saw that a worst-case possibility had been shoved in his face by reality. Luke was now trapped here.

Resigning himself to his fate, Luke was able to bring himself to remember his initial mission. He proceeded to scale the steps of the Temple, carrying the infant with him. She had, miraculously, ceased crying. Even if he wasn't going to see his family again for a long time, perhaps never, Luke thanked the Force for that small miracle.

As Luke climbed the final step, he beheld the majesty of the statues outside the Temple. It was a shame that the Emperor had destroyed them.

Luke shook his head. "No, they haven't been destroyed. Not yet, and if my plan works, not ever." he mumbled quietly to himself.

Walking up to the doors of the Temple, he gently lowered the infant's frail body onto the cold, hard metal of the Temple. After he bade her a final, soft farewell, Luke sent a surge of the Force out into the surrounding area.

Luke turned around and sped down the stairs, never once looking back.

* * *

><p>Jedi Master Plo Koon stood in the gateway to the Temple. Detecting the surge, Master Yoda had sent him to investigate the source of it. But he hadn't expected to find an infant Togruta. Although Plo Koon could sense that the Force was strong in here, he didn't believe she was the cause. The surge was too calculated, too controlled, to be the product of the chaotic powers of a Force-sensitive infant.<p>

Bending down to pick her up off the ground, he noticed a small sheet of...paper? Paper hadn't been used in centuries. Ever since the invention of the datapad, paper had become obsolete.

Amused by the vintage form of writing, Plo Koon brought the paper up into his field of view. His amused mood soon morphed into a perplexed one as he read through what had to be a letter. He retreated, with the infant cradled in his arms, back into the halls of the Temple, hurrying to present his findings to Master Yoda.

The letter reads as follows:

_This girl shall play a key part in preserving both the Jedi Order and the Republic. Keep her safe, and train her in the ways of the Jedi. When the time is right, when the Galaxy seems to be torn apart, assign her to a young, somewhat reckless Jedi Knight. The Force will watch over her from that point on._

_May the Force be with you._

_P.S. Her name is Ahsoka Tano._


	2. Chapter 1: The Battle Above Tatooine

Just cause you guys took the time to review, I decided to continue the story. I also like the premise of this story, and want to milk it for what it's worth. Let me know what you think of it. And please tell me if my writing EVER gets mediocre. I absolutely hate when that happens.

-ROTM

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><p><strong>Above Tatooine, 19 BBY<strong>

Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Padawan in training, was currently being shot at by several very angry vulture droids. She quickly maneuvered her starfighter around a barrage of missiles fired by the droids. "Could use a little help here, Skyguy."

Ahsoka heard her master, Anakin Skywalker, groan through the comlink. "I always seem to be digging you out of the messes you create, Snips. Would it kill you to not be so reckless?"

"Says the Jedi who charged Dooku."

"Touché, my Padawan. Touché."

Ahsoka grinned when her sensors alerted her that the droids had perished. Her grin was short lived, however. A second squadron soon veered to intercept the two Jedi. "They just don't know when to give up, do they?"

After she'd mopped the floor with the remaining vulture droids, Anakin's voice came back on the comlink. "All pilots concentrate fire on the cruiser. Don't get too close, though. Intel shows that this ship has improved targeting systems."

Ahsoka gripped the controls tightly as she fired on the Separatist flagship. She almost let loose a cry of anger when she missed a key system on a ship. Irritated, she disobeyed orders to get a closer, more accurate shot.

"Ahsoka! What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back here now."

Ahsoka replied through gritted teeth. "I can do this. Master."

"Ahsoka! Listen to me and return to a safe distance."

"I know what I'm doing." Ahsoka reached to the panel to turn off the comlink.

"No you don't. Return now before-"

Without her Master's voice to distract her, she returned to attacking the ship. She whooped loudly when one of her torpedoes hit it's mark, the enemies engines.

She barely had time to see what happened next. A turbolaser beam grazed her ship, taking out both engines. Ahsoka swore loudly as her ship plummeted towards Tatooine.

Another small explosion signified the destruction of communication systems. Ahsoka was now cut off from the rest of the Republic fleet.

Ahsoka felt a massive lurch, followed by a lurid explosion. R7-A7 chirped loudly, informing her that they had just lost their fuel tank. Ahsoka swore again.

Tatooine drew ever closer, now dominating her field of view. She put backwards thrusters on full, but they did little to slow the ship.

The edge of the planet was now gone. Ahsoka could now make out features on the landscape as the terrain flattened out before her. "Hold on, R7!"

Impact!

Ahsoka's starfighter rebounded violently off of a sand dune, and began sliding across the sandy surface of the Tatooine. Ahsoka was slammed pugnaciously into the sides of the cockpit by the impact, and was rattled a little less violently by the slide. Her starfighter eventually skidded to a slow, gradual stop with it's nose sticking into a sand dune.

Ahsoka sighed in relief. _'At least I'm alive.' _she thought to herself. Then the reality of the situation hit her. She was trapped on the scumbag capitol of the Galaxy. She would have openly traded her current situation for the wrath of her master any day.

Ahsoka released the lock on her cockpit, opening it to the Tatooine air. A blast of heat met her face as soon as the cockpit was raised, and she could already feel beads of sweat rolling down her face. She retrieved her datapad and Jedi robes from the cockpit, and flung herself out onto the windy desert.

She pulled the robes over her body, gripping the ends tightly as it flapped in the wind. Pulling the cowl over her face, she activated the datapad. "How bad is the damage R7."

The astromech replied in a series of chirps and beeps that Ahsoka's datapad swiftly translated.

"So we have no communications" Ahsoka ran her eyes over the destroyed starfighter. "and we obviously aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So I guess we'll set up camp and wait for Anakin to come rescue us."

R7 seemed to hesitate for a second, but then replied in a series of dismayed beeps.

Ahsoka cast disheartened eyes downward. "So you think the explosion caused by the fuel tank led them to think that we're dead?" It was more of a statement than a question. R7 didn't reply, and simply ejected himself from the astromech port on the starfighter.

Ahsoka sent a mock grin R7's way. "At least things can't get any worse."

It was at that moment a Tusken Raider leapt out from behind a dune, clubbing Ahsoka with his staff and driving her into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Above Tatooine, Republic Star Destroyer<strong>

Obi-Wan Kenobi shook his head sadly as he walked onto the bridge. Captain Rex was already there waiting for him. "Hello, General." Rex greeted, with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

"Greetings Rex. It's good to see you. I just wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"Same, General." There was a silence following Rex's statement.

"How is he, Rex?"

Rex looked down sadly. "Not good, sir. He's trying to act normal, for the sake of the crew, but I can tell that he's torn up inside."

"Understandable. Anakin did just lose a good Padawan...and a good friend."

Rex was about to reply, but the doors to the bridge opened, reveling Anakin. Anakin moved over to Obi-Wan and Rex.

"Hello, Master. The mission was a success. The fleet of Separatist ships was destroyed." Anakin's voice was strained, like he was utilizing all of his might to keep from breaking out in tears.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Excellent work Anakin. But that's not why I'm here."

Anakin shot Obi-Wan an angry look. "I'm fine Obi-Wan. Ahsoka was a Jedi. She knew the risks of being a soldier."

"I know Anakin, but-"

"Damn it, Obi-Wan! I'm fine." Anakin slammed his fist down on the control table, attracting the attention of all the bridge officers.

Realizing he what he'd just done, Anakin turned around and left the bridge.

"I'll be in my cabin."

* * *

><p>Ahsoka woke with a start. She ignited her lightsaber and shoto and quickly surveyed her surroundings. She was on a bed in a room made of dried mud. Slightly outdated technology buzzed around her. <em>'Where...am I?'<em>

"Calm yourself. There's no need for those here."

Ahsoka turned to see a soft-faced old human man. He looked to be in his early sixties.

Ahsoka kept her lightsaber ignited "Where am I?"

The man slumped onto a chair beside Ahsoka's bed. "You're in my homestead. I caught the Sand People dragging you off to their camp, so I scared them off and brought you here."

Ahsoka deactivated her lightsaber and relaxed a bit. "And who are you?"

The man hesitated for a moment before answering. "Luke" he answered. "Luke Solo."


	3. Chapter 2: Excess Baggage

_Author's Note: _The second chapter is out. I'm hoping you're all familiar with e Galactic Standard Calender, because it's going to be used a lot in this story. If you're not familiar with it, I recommend looking it up on the Wookiepedia.

* * *

><p><strong>Tatooine, 19 BBY<strong>

Ahsoka and Luke sat across from each other at a clay table. Both had remained silent for a while after Ahsoka had told him her story. R7-A7, who had also been rescued by Luke, beeped quietly from a corner of the hut.

Luke smiled warmly. "Would you like some tea?"

Ahsoka considered for a second before nodding. "Sure."

Ahsoka nearly fell backwards at what she saw next. She saw Luke lift his hand as a boiling teapot and several teacups drifted towards them. Ahsoka stared dumbfounded at Luke. "You can use the Force?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Apparently."

"Do you have a lightsaber?" Ahsoka inquired, starting to shift around in her chair.

Luke reached down beneath his robe and pulled out a hilt. He ignited it, revealing a beautiful white-green blade.

"But I thought the location of Ilum was a Jedi secret." Ahsoka whispered.

Hearing her, Luke responded. "I've never been there. I synthesized the crystal for my lightsaber from various materials."

Ahsoka's mind reeled. Here, in front of her, was a Jedi that had been previously unknown to the Jedi Order. How had they not sensed him at birth? Who had been his master? All these questions multiplied in Ahsoka's head, threatening to explode in a flurry of words.

But Luke spoke first, cutting her off from asking questions. "So, Miss Tano, you appear to have a bit of a dilemma. You need to return to the Jedi Order on Coruscant, but have no way of doing so." Luke sighed. "I guess I'll have to take you there myself."

Ahsoka was taken aback. "Really? You'll help me get back to my master?"

Luke nodded. "Of course I have to help you. Why else would the Force bring you to my humble abode?"

Ahsoka gave Luke an odd look. "You're awfully trusting of me, you know that?"

"And who wouldn't trust a Jedi?" Luke gave Ahsoka an inquisitive look.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Whatever. Let's just get going. Where's the nearest spaceport?"

"Over in Mos Eisley. It's out past Anchorage. If we take my speeder, we can reach there by tomorrow morning."

Ahsoka nodded. "Alright. We better get going." Ahsoka turned to leave.

Luke hesitated. "I'll be out in a second. This place... its full of many memories."

Luke gathered a few of his things, and soon the duo, and R7, were on their way.

* * *

><p>They reached Mos Eisley early the next morning. Tatooine's second sun had barely poked it's head above the horizon, while the first sun cast deep but barely visible shadows over the earthen buildings.<p>

"Wow." Ahsoka began. "This place is a bantha pit."

Luke nodded. "Spend most of your life here, like I did, and it becomes a lot worse."

"Did you ever know someone named Anakin Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked.

Luke stiffened. "That name does seem to ring bells. Maybe I met him in a shop or on the street."

_'There's definitely something strange about Luke.'_ Ahsoka concluded. _'He's thrown off balance whenever I mention Master Skywalker.'_

They continued into the town. Luke's eyes seemed to scan the town. He pointed to a shady cantina. "We'll probably be able to find a starship captain willing to take us into the Core Worlds there."

Ahsoka gave Luke a skeptical look. "If we don't end up dead and lying in the gutter. You really need review your definition of reputable business."

"On the contrary. Captains here will be less likely to ask questions. Thus, we have less of a chance to be turned over to the Separatists. And then there's the fact that some of the best pilots can be found here." The door to the cantina slid open. "Even so, watch yourself."

Nobody paid any attention to a sixty-something man as they entered, but a few were surprised to see a sixteen year-old Togruta girl. _'I'm obviously not the target demographic of this place.'_ Ahsoka sat herself down on a stool at the bar.

"Stay here, I'm going to find a pilot." Luke disappeared into the mob of various beings.

Ahsoka shifted uncomfortably under the gazes of males of various species. _'When I finally get back home, I have to change my attire to be something a little more...modest.'_

When Luke finally returned, she didn't even try to hide her relief. "So? Did you find someone?"

Luke motioned to a young human man beside him. "This is Alf Duron. He's agreed to go out of his way to take us to Coruscant."

Alf scoffed "As long as I get my money, I'll take you anywhere in the Galaxy."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at Luke. "He seems pretty loyal too."

Luke smiled apologetically. "It's only until we reach Coruscant. Then, you'll be back at the Temple." Luke turned to Duron. "We would like to leave immediately."

Alf shrugged. "Fine by me." He motioned to the door. "Follow me, I'll show you the ship."

Alf led them to the heart of Mos Eisley. Ahsoka grew more and more discomforted with every step she took. All around her, scarred being partook in activities that would be illegal in any Republic system. _'This is definitely not my kind of neighborhood.'_

The Mos Eisley Spaceport didn't deserve such a name. It was just a crummy mud brick building that just happened to house spacecrafts. And Alf's ship? Well...

"What a piece of junk!" Ahsoka spat. The ship was an old Firefly-class heavy freighter. Emphasis on old. _'How's that junk-heap still in one piece?'_

Alf cringed at Ahsoka's statement. " She's no piece of junk, kid. The _Arcadia _could outrun any Republic shuttle with ease."

"Like hell it can! I bet that thing couldn't outrun a..." Luke raised his hand, cutting off Ahsoka's retort.

Luke turned back to Alf. "Finish preparations, and let's go."

A short while later, the _Arcadia_ left the surface of the planet. The space-junk from the previous day's battle was still clustered together, and had yet to disperse. Ahsoka's faith that Anakin had survived was strengthened as her eyes swept across the scene of the battle from the window of her quarters. The Destroyer under Anakin's command was not among the wreckages.

_'Please, Master. Be safe.'_

The corpses of ships disappeared as starlines streaked across Ahsoka's field of vision. Ahsoka collapsed into her cot, exhausted. All the traveling on Tatooine had worn her out. The only thing she wished for at the moment was for sleep to claim her.

* * *

><p>It started as a quiet, but incessant, beeping accompanied by a blinking red light. At first, Alf dismissed this as nothing, telling his copilot, Drefa Honew, to figure out whatever was wrong.<p>

The human shook his head. "Never seen anything like this before. It's like something in the ship is messing with the hyperspace field."

Alf frowned. "Are we in any immediate danger?"

Drefa continued to fidget with the controls on the board. "Surprisingly, no. Whatever it is, it's not intentional. Probably just a malfunction in the hyperdrive. We should be arriving in about twenty minutes. I'll have a mechanic on Coruscant check it out once we land."

Alf nodded and returned to his own control board, attempting to reimmerse himself in the strangely relaxing cycle of managing the ship. Even so, Alf couldn't get the strange hyperspace readings out of his head.

As the minutes ticked by, it was soon time for their arrival at Coruscant. Alf noticed that his two Jedi passengers and their astromech had arrived at the bridge. Nodding to them, he turned back to the controls.

"Exiting hyperspace...now."

The wormhole of hyperspace disappeared, replaced with starlines that soon melted back into flecks of far away stars.

Alf was still looking at the controls when he heard a surprised gasp escape Drefa's lips.

Alf lifted his head to see what had gotten Drefa so excited. Alf's eyes widened. "Dag!" he swore loudly, starting to feel the urge to throw up. Luke and Ahsoka looked no better, both visibly growing pale.

Smoke shrouded Coruscant's atmosphere. A red glow pulsed beneath the planet's atmosphere, hinting to a massive fire raging on the surface. Coruscant was very much dead.

The console on the _Arcadia's_ bridge beeped loudly. "Something is approaching the _Arcadia_." Drefa's voice cracked. Alf suddenly remembered that his late teenage copilot had family on Coruscant.

A massive, grotesque... something came into view on the front window. It looked like someone had tried to combine a rancor and a starship into one.

"It's transmitting us a recorded message. Playing it on the speakers."

A horribly guttural voice resounded across the bridge in heavily accented Basic.

"_Surrender willingly to the Yuuzhan Vong Empire and we will grant you infidels swift deaths."_


	4. Chapter 3: Magic Starships and Crashing

_**Author's Note:**_ So I probably could have made this longer, but I wanted to update this within two weeks of the last update for anyone who likes the story.

Enjoy,

ROTM

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><p><strong>27 ABY<strong>

**Above Coruscant**

Ahsoka was stupefied. _'How? How could this happen in such a short amount of time? And what's the Yuuzhan Vong Empire?'_

Ahsoka heard Luke whisper something under his breathe. "The Yuuzhan Vong War!"

The message the Yuuzhan Vong had sent continued to play, repeating until a frustrated Alf switched it off. "Like hell we are! Drefa, turn us around and make a jump to hyperspace."

Drefa, still traumatized from seeing the razed Coruscant, absentmindedly turned the ship around. "Jumping to hyperspace now."

The sound of the hyperdrive revving up was heard on the bridge. Then the sound died away pitifully. Drefa sobered up immediately, frantically punching buttons and flipping switches.

"Why am I not seeing a starlines, Drefa?" Alf gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I don't know! The ship says the hyperdrive is functioning normally, but it doesn't seem to want to make the jump." Drefa wiped a bead of sweat off his face as he said this.

Ahsoka continued to stare blankly ahead. The Jedi, her family, was on Coruscant. _'Did they survive? Where are they now? And what about Anakin? Is he safe?'_

Luke, although still a bit pale, had calmed himself as best as he could. "Alf, we need to set down on Coruscant."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ahsoka saw Alf gape at Luke. "Are you crazy, man! Those Yuuzhan Vong things are probably crawling all over the surface.

Luke just nodded. "I know that. But we need to get to the Jedi Temple. There's... something there that might be able to help us."

Alf bit down on his lip, taking in the new information. "Old man, you better have some kind of magical super starship in the Temple. Otherwise, I'll see you tossed into a sarlacc pit."

As the ship turned back towards the planet, Ahsoka turned to Luke. "What do you have in the Temple, Luke? I thought you were unknown to the Order?"

"All in time, Ahsoka. You'll see eventually."

After that, silence fell as each occupant of the _Arcadia _dealt with the trauma of seeing Coruscant destroyed. The silence was broken, however, by the controls panels lighting up brightly, causing R7 to beep frantically. "Blast!" Alf exclaimed. "They've launched some kind of missile. Initiating evasive maneuvers."

The missiles narrowly missed their target. But, just as Alf began to relax and initiate a counterattack, an explosion rocked the _Arcadia_, causing it to dip down towards Coruscant. The ship picked up speed as it drew nearer to the planet.

_'That's the second crash this week! I really have no luck.'_ Ahsoka thought as she climbed up off the floor of the ship, as the explosion had knocked everyone standing down.

"Aim us towards the Jedi Temple. Get us as close as you can." Luke commanded sternly.

"Whatever you want." Alf replied.

After they penetrated into the atmosphere, Alf initiated the emergency flaps to slow their descent. "I see the Temple. It's right..." Alf's eyes widened. "Oh, Sith."

Luke slammed Ahsoka onto a seat, before strapping himself and R7 in as well.

The Jedi Temple approached fast, directly in front of the _Arcadia_. Ahsoka closed her eyes, prayed to the Force for guidance, and waited.

Barely half a second later, the _Arcadia_ broke through the outer wall of the Jedi Temple.

* * *

><p>Ahsoka rubbed the bump on the back of her head tenderly as she un-strapped herself from her seat. Around her, Luke and the other members of the crew were doing the same. "Is everyone ok?" Luke called out in the darkness of the ship.<p>

A grunt resounded through the darkness. "Oh, just dandy. My ship's in pieces. What are Drefa and I supposed to do now, huh? Run a cantina on Kessel?"

Ahsoka whirled her head around to face Alf's. "Can you stop complaining for five seconds. We need to get going."

Alf laughed bitterly through the inky black darkness. "With what, Master Jedi? We lost our food stores to space when we were hit by that missile."

Luke almost swore, catching himself at the last second. "Well, we still better get going. The thing that can help us is in the lower levels." Luke used the Force to blow a hole in the side of the already ruined ship. He climbed out, sliding down a pile of rubble. The rest of the group, R7 included, followed suit.

The Jedi Temple was a graveyard. Chunks of durasteel were strewn throughout the halls. Statues of masters long dead had missing appendages, some even decapitated. The entirety of the Jedi Temple reeked of death.

"A rainbow-barfing magic starship." Ahsoka heard Alf mutter under his breath as they continued their death march through the Temple.

They made sure to maneuver carefully through the wreckage. The hallways were dimly lit with artificial light, as the black clouds choked the sky, blocking out any natural light. Every step was an accident waiting to happen.

Ahsoka suddenly felt a presence. It was very dim, but she could still make it out.

"Luke..." she began.

Luke interrupted her, reaching for his lightsaber. "I know. But... this presence feels familiar."

A figure suddenly leapt out of a dark corridor, and ignited an emerald-hued lightsaber. Luke ignited his own emerald blade to parry the strike.

The glow of the lightsabers lit up the attacker's face. Luke and the figure's eyes went wide at the same time. Dazed, both of them deactivated their lightsabers.

The figure, now revealed to be a handsome man in his late teens, spoke first. "Uncle Luke? I thought you were supposed to be helping transport the apprentices to Shelter?"

Luke, still dazed, said only one word.

"Jacen."


End file.
